Round 9 2023

West Coast v Gold Coast
Round 9, 2023

Duggan in action. Photo: aflphotos.com.au

Date

Fri, 12 May 2023 (6.40pm WST)

Venue

Perth Stadium

Attendance

36.219

Result

Lost by 70

Score

GC 16.17.113 - 6.7.43 WCE

Brownlow

Ladder

17th

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West Coast suffered another horror home thrashing, this time at the hands of the Suns in a Friday night clash. Once again it was a second-quarter switch-off that did most of the damage, with Gold Coast pouring on eight unanswered goals to go into halftime with an unassailable 50-point halftime lead. The Eagles staged a brief fightback early in the third before losing momentum again, eventually going down by 70 points, their biggest loss to Gold Coast in the side's history. Acting captain Liam Duggan tried his best to lead his side with a game-high 32 possessions and youngster Reuben Ginbey recorded a stunning 16 tackles.

Summary[]

		1/4 time		1/2 time		3/4 time		Final
West Coast		2.3.15		3.5.23		5.7.37		6.7.43
Gold Coast		3.2.20		11.7.73		11.10.76		16.17.113

Goals: Allen 2, Clark, Kelly, Petruccelle, West

Best: Duggan, Ginbey, Allen, Witherden, Kelly

Injuries: Jones (broken nose), Darling (arm)

Reports: Duggan for rough conduct on A.Davies

Substitutes: (WCE) L.Edwards for Jones (broken nose) at half-time; (GC) Tsitas for Lemmens in the fourth term

Records: GC biggest win vs WCE; GC equal-highest score vs WCE; WCE lowest score vs GC

Jumper: Home, blue shorts

Named sides[]

	West Coast				Gold Coast
B:	23.Witherden	37.Barrass	14.Duggan	B:	23.Lemmens	25.Collins	31.Andrew
HB:	31.Jones	35.Rotham	5.Hunt	HB:	44.Macpherson	10.Ballard	27.Powell
C:	29.Foley	11.Kelly	3.Gaff	C:	8.Fiorini	24.Swallow	4.Ellis
HF:	2.Waterman	27.Darling	36.West	HF:	16.Berry	13.Lukosius	41.Rosas
F:	40.Jamieson	12.Allen	21.Petruccelle	F:	12.Day	34.King	1.Chol
R:	32.B.Williams	4.Sheed	7.Ginbey	R:	28.Witts	18.Rowell	15.Anderson
I:	19.Hough	24.O'Neill	39.Clark	I:	2.Atkins	5.Davies	19.Humphrey
	42.H.Edwards				47.Oea
E:	16.L.Edwards	18.Chesser	26.Trew	E:	29.Burgess	37.Faulkhead	6.Sexton
	30.Barnett				21.Tsitas

In: Jamieson, Hough, H.Edwards

Out: Culley (knee), Hurn (adductor), L.Edwards (managed), Trew (sub)

Quarter by quarter[]

Both sides went in as named, with Luke Edwards and James Tsitas starting as subs. The game was played under lights in fine and clear conditions.

From the coach[]

"We did well to stay in it (in the) first quarter. We couldn't take a mark in the front half in the first quarter and our backs held up pretty well considering the supply and we could have gone in front, I think we conceded a goal with 30 seconds to go. The second quarter, we just got blown away in the midfield. From the rucks to the mids, so I don’t think we won a clearance in the second quarter and some of the things we tried just didn't work. So 13 shots, 25 contested possessions against. So a really disappointing second quarter, which is a trend that we can't seem to stop. And then the third quarter we responded (with) a couple different things. I think Petch going around the ball was good for us and some of our younger players responded and senior players, and then the games too far away to chase. So yeah, showed a bit of resistance in the second half. But in the end, they were too good in particular (in the) second quarter.

"...It's hard to point the finger at our forwards because the ball wasn't in there. And our backs, just the supply piece, we got overwhelmed with it. So yep, they're are a good midfield and they taught us a lesson in the second quarter and they're a very honest competitive team that has played a very similar way for a number of years and when they get it on their terms, they're really dangerous. In the last five weeks, we've seen it. So we knew it was coming and we couldn't stop it."

"...We're relying a lot on Tim Kelly and Dom Sheed, a lot. So, we need them to play at their best every minute. So, when they're a bit off, I think Ruben had 16 tackles or something again tonight, and there's not much more he can do. So yeah, we're getting challenged in that space. So, we want our good players playing well, all the time and when they were a bit off, it hurts us a bit. Witts is a tremendous ruckman and probably the best in the comp at the moment and young Bailey's working through his career and I'm not sure what the hitouts were tonight but I'm sure it was significant."^[1]

From the papers[]

The West Australian[]

"The second quarter stats were ugly. Gold Coast won the clearances 14-3. The Eagles’ first clearance win came from a free kick during time on.

Gold Coast won the contested possessions 43-16. They made the most of that dominance to win the inside-50 battle 17-4 and boot 8.5 to 1.2 for the term. That equated to a 50-point lead at the long break. Game over.

Nothing summed up disaster more than one passage of play. Brady Hough played on from the wing, didn’t see Ben King and got bumped which caused a turnover. Jack Darling was still doing up his shoelaces behind play which allowed King to find Jack Lukosius inside 50. Fortunately for West Coast, he missed. But one team was switched on and winning contests and the other was spectating."^[2]

Reserves[]

Round 6 (13 May)

It was a familiar story for West Coast's reserves, thrashed by Peel in Mandurah. The Eagles started surprisingly well, making use of a strong breeze to lead by 20 points at the first change. Regular programming resumed from that point on, with the Thunder kicking 19 goals to two over the final three terms to record an 89-point win. Zane Trew pleaded his case for a senior recall with 32 possessions.

		1/4 time		1/2 time		3/4 time		Final
Peel Thunder		2.2.14		11.5.71		16.8.104		21.15.141
West Coast		5.4.34		5.6.36		7.10.52		7.10.52

Goals: Eastough 2, Burke, Garlett, Levien, McCarthy, Nitschke

Best: Trew, McCarthy, Eastough, Creasey

Injuries: Nil

Named side:

	West Coast
B:	68.Watson	63.Hansen	81.Mouritz
HB:	80.Sambo	56.Creasey	38.Baker
C:	64.Mercer	60.Deegan	59.Nitschke
HF:	61.McCarthy	75.Eastough	43.Dewar
F:	70.Lucassen	51.Garlett	57.Burke
R:	73.J.Edwards	48.Nelson	54.Browne
I:	66.Collins	62.Downsborough	52.Kemp
	58.Levien
E:	74.Frost	76.Lloyd	65.Stevens

In: Creasey, J.Edwards, Garlett, Mouritz, Levien

Out: Jamieson, Barnett (AFL), A.Waterman (back), O'Sullivan (ankle), Lloyd

Late changes: Chesser, Trew, Barnett for Collins, Downsborough, Kemp

New: Campbell Chesser (Sandringham Dragons), Tyler Mouritz (West Perth)

Injury list[]

In the leadup to the round the following players were listed as injured or unavailable:

Player	Injury	Expected return
Culley	Knee	Season
Winder	Knee	TBC
Petrevski-Seton	Quad	TBC
Cripps	Ankle	11-13 weeks
Ryan	Hamstring	9-11 weeks
Cole	Ankle	8-9 weeks
McGovern	Hamstring	6-7 weeks
Naitanui	Achilles	6-7 weeks
Shuey	Ankle/hamstring	4 weeks
Yeo	Adductor	2-3 weeks
Burgiel	Hamstring	2 weeks
Hewett	Ankle	2 weeks
Long	Hamstring	1-2 weeks
Bazzo	Concussion	1-2 weeks
J.Williams	Ruptured spleen	1-2 weeks
H.Edwards	Wrist	Test
Hough	Hamstring	Test
Chesser	Knee	Test
Baker	Back	Test